Rajiv Menon opened his Hollywood gallery weeks after the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, at a time when other galleries were closing their doors. Now, Rajiv Menon Contemporary makes its ART MUMBAI debut at Mahalaxmi Racecourse this month, with a booth of Los Angeles artists chosen to speak to Bombay. The gallerist tells us why the two cities understand each other, and how a first-time buyer can start a collection.
Excerpts from the interview:
This is Rajiv Menon Contemporary's first year at ART MUMBAI. Why was this the right year to bring your gallery here, and what should visitors look out for at your booth?
We wanted to be a little more established as a gallery before coming to ART MUMBAI, because the connection between Los Angeles and Bombay is so important to me. I wanted to be able to do justice to that relationship by bringing artists who really represent the best of what Los Angeles has to offer, while demonstrating how inherently in conversation they are with the broader artistic landscape of Mumbai.
The cultures of these two cities, both so deeply driven by entertainment, creativity and cultural production, feel incredibly interconnected. I was really excited to put together a booth that could make that connection tangible, and allow visitors to experience just how naturally these two worlds speak to one another.
Which artists are you showing in Mumbai, and why did you pick them for an Indian audience?
We're showing a group of Los Angeles artists, some of whom are of South Asian descent and some of whom are not. But one of the things I really wanted to demonstrate is that an Indian sensibility isn't bound by national boundaries, and that there are so many meaningful conversations that can happen across cultures. Bombay and Los Angeles are intuitively in conversation with one another, and I wanted to select artists who brought that relationship to the fore.
For example, we're showing Jonny Negron in India for the first time. His work is deeply connected to his own relationship with spirituality and intimacy, but I was also struck by how naturally it enters into conversation with some of India's great artists, particularly Bhupen Khakhar. One of Jonny's compositions reminded me very strongly of Khakhar's The Dentist, and I found that resonance incredibly moving. It felt like a conversation that was already inherent in his practice.
Similarly, Amir H. Fallah, who is of Iranian-American descent, explores themes of migration and identity that feel particularly resonant in India. I deeply believe Indian audiences are fundamentally globally minded, and I wanted our booth to meet them within that expansive worldview while also offering something unexpected: a different perspective on what Indian sensibility can mean, and how it can travel across geographies and cultures.
Amir Fallah |
You showed at India Art Fair in Delhi and in Jaipur earlier this year. What did those audiences teach you, and what do you expect from Mumbai?
I don't think you can neatly categorise or stereotype the Indian art collector. Taste is so subjective and individual, and I think often when we discuss global art markets, entire countries get reduced in very flattening terms. I wanted to bring work that was compelling, interesting and youthful, and I felt that inherently that's what Indian audiences are drawn to. There's not a single type of art that speaks to Indian audiences, and I think respecting that multiplicity of perspectives, as one would in any other market, is really important.
Many first-time visitors find art fairs intimidating. How should someone walking into ART MUMBAI with no art background spend their day there?
I believe very strongly the most important education someone can receive about art is their own sense of taste. So if you've never been exposed to art or you don't know anything about art, simply wander and find what you naturally gravitate towards. That teaches you something about yourself and your own sensibility, and that becomes your compass towards your later art education.
For a young professional in Mumbai who wants to start collecting, what is a sensible first step? Is there a budget at which buying original art becomes possible?
If there is something you feel you cannot live without, don't let it be a regret later. I think making a splurge, if you have the means to do so, is an important first step into art collecting, because art collecting is often impulsive, but really deeply emotionally fulfilling. Works on paper are a great entry point to practices that might be more established and inaccessible. Really thinking about what feels right for your budget, your home and your taste is ultimately the first step towards starting a collection.
Greg Ito |
How can a new buyer tell the difference between a work they love and a work that will hold its value? Should that even matter when you're starting out?
I discourage people from thinking about art as purely a commodity, but I also understand that you are spending a lot of money, and you should be responsible and thoughtful about how you spend that. There should be a nice intersection between the two. Don't buy something just because you think it's going to hold its value, because you're going to live with it and not love it. Similarly, don't buy something without researching the artist and understanding that they have some sense of trajectory. You really want to be able to orient their career and see where they're heading with their practice. So it really is a careful balancing act between these two factors. Both clearly matter and have to be considered in respect to each other.
Over four editions, ART MUMBAI has drawn more international galleries every year, including several showing in India for the first time. What does that tell us about how the world is looking at South Asian art right now?
People are paying attention to South Asian art right now, and there are many galleries that are looking towards it. I'm very excited about the company we'll be in at this fair. We love seeing galleries like Perrotin and Night Gallery, both of whom have great presences in LA and really brilliant people behind them. And I'm so excited because they're coming in, like us, with a deep desire to engage with the Indian art landscape.
My biggest fear is that Western galleries will simply see India as a cash cow and not think about the larger cultural mission that comes with the exhibition of South Asian art. In India, it's deeply connected to larger questions of national identity and visual culture, and in the diaspora, it's about belonging and where we fit into the larger mainstreams of the countries we settle in.
It's really exciting to see galleries coming in wanting to have cultural dialogue. I think South Asian art is finally getting its rightful place within the global canon, and it is simply the responsibility of any gallery that wants to have an international footprint to think very deeply about the role that South Asia has within their programme.
Jonny Negron |
You were a TV producer and did a PhD in visual culture at NYU before opening your gallery. What made you take the leap, and how has that background shaped the way you put together a show?
I often joke that being in the art world is like splitting the difference between entertainment and academia. There's a need to speak to an audience, to engage them, and to make the experience feel both fun and meaningful. I realised I could build on these two very different skill sets to create something new.
With every show I put forward, I'm thinking about how to engage audiences, how to make the work meaningful and relevant to them, and how to present something that's culturally significant and in dialogue with the larger canon.
I'm very grateful for the career I've had, and I think every step has built upon the one before it. I see my current career in art as the culmination of rigorous and serious work in two very distinct fields.
Suchitra Mattai |
You opened your Hollywood space in February 2025, weeks after the wildfires, when many LA galleries were closing. What did starting a gallery at that moment teach you that you'd pass on to anyone starting a creative business today?
We chose a very challenging time to open the gallery, and in many ways, I feel like we started on difficult mode. That said, we opened at a moment when Los Angeles really needed community and unity, and we were very clear about wanting to provide that.
It was a time when galleries were closing and the market was retracting, but that put fire under our feet to reach out to new collectors and build new audiences. I take a lot of pride in the fact that many people who come into our gallery have never collected art before, but begin collecting through us.
I believe the future of the art market, regardless of what's happening in the wider landscape or in the city, depends on its ability to bring new people in. That's at the core of our ethos, and the challenges we faced at the outset only pushed us to embrace it more fully.
You grew up in Texas and spent long stretches of your childhood in India. Does bringing your gallery to Mumbai feel like a homecoming?
Bombay is one of the most important cities in my life. I spent a significant part of my twenties moving back and forth between the US and Bombay, and those experiences were instrumental in shaping the person I am today.
Some of my closest friends in the world are in Bombay, and I've always been deeply moved by the city's creativity, ingenuity, warmth and hospitality. It felt like home almost from the moment I began spending extended time there.
While it's not a city I spent much time in as a child, Bombay became a place where I really developed as a person. To bring my gallery here, to a city I consider one of the most significant cultural centres in the world, is both an affirmation of the gallery's mission and a deeply fulfilling milestone in my career.
